Feedback control in an FDD TDD-CDMA system

• US 20080159185A1
• Filed: 12/27/2006
• Published: 07/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intellectual Ventures II LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: IPWireless Inc. (NVIDIA Corporation)
• Inventors: Howard, Paul
• Granted Patent: US 8,009,639 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/294
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/2643 using time-division multiple access [TDMA] H04B7/2615, H04B7/2618 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 3/1694 Allocation of channels in TDM/TDMA networks, e.g. distributed multiplexers Passive Optical Networks H04Q11/0062
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0053 Allocation of signaling, i.e. of overhead other than pilot signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/146 Uplink power control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/54 Signalisation aspects of the TPC commands, e.g. frame structure
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0446 Resources in time domain, e.g. slots or frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/121 for groups of terminals or users
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/20 Control channels or signalling for resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/23 in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal

Abstract

Active control feedback between a base station and user equipment in a wireless communications network is achieved by allocating a first time slot within a frame for a UE to transmit a beacon signal to the base station, where the beacon signal is separate from data signals in the frame, allocating a second time slot within the frame for the base station to transmit a control signal in response to the beacon signal, and allocating other timeslots for the base station to operate in full duplex FDD mode. The control signal provides a basis upon which the UE adjusts a transmission parameter, such as power.

Claims

1. A method for enabling active control feedback between a base station and user equipment (UE) in a wireless communications network, the method comprising:

allocating a first time slot within a frame for a UE to transmit a beacon signal to the base station, wherein the beacon signal is separate from data signals in the frame;

allocating a second time slot within the frame for the base station to transmit a control signal in response to the beacon signal, the control signal for providing a basis upon which the UE adjusts a transmission parameter; and

allocating other timeslots for the base station to operate in full duplex FDD mode.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein data signals are not allocated to the first time slot.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second time slots operate in full duplex FDD mode.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmission parameter comprises power.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the control signal is based upon at least one factor from the group consisting of:

path loss computed based upon the received power of the beacon signal;

time of arrival of the beacon signal; and

channel impulse response in response to the beacon signal.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein allocating a second time slot to the control signal comprises allowing another downlink signal, separated in the code domain from the control signal, to share the second time slot with the control signal.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein

allocating a first time slot within a frame for the UE comprises allocating the first time slot within at least some successive frames to different UEs for transmission of respective different beacon signals, and

allocating a second time slot within a frame for the base station comprises allocating the second time slot to the base station for transmission of different control signals within the at least some successive frames to the different UEs.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining to which UE the first time slot should be allocated based upon at least one factor from the group consisting of:

expected volume of data transfer expected;

required data transfer rate;

frequency of short bursts of data transfer;

total number of UEs connected to the network;

time since last data transfer; and

UE power saving requirements.

9. A controller for enabling active control feedback between a base station and UE in a wireless communications network, the controller comprising logic for:

allocating a first time slot within a frame for a UE to transmit a beacon signal to the base station, wherein the beacon signal is separate from data signals in the frame;

allocating a second time slot within the frame for the base station to transmit a control signal in response to the beacon signal, the control signal for providing a basis upon which the UE adjusts a transmission parameter; and

allocating other timeslots for the base station to operate in full duplex FDD mode.

10. The controller of claim 9, wherein data signals are not allocated to the first time slot.

11. The controller of claim 9, wherein the first and second time slots operate in full duplex FDD mode.

12. The controller of claim 9, wherein the transmission parameter comprises power.

13. The controller of claim 9, wherein the control signal is based upon at least one factor from the group consisting of:

path loss computed based upon the received power of the beacon signal;

time of arrival of the beacon signal; and

channel impulse response in response to the beacon signal.

14. The controller of claim 9, wherein the logic for allocating a second time slot to the control signal comprises logic for allowing another downlink signal, separated in the code domain from the control signal, to share the second time slot with the control signal.

15. The controller of claim 9, wherein

the logic for allocating a first time slot within a frame for the UE comprises logic for allocating the first time slot within at least some successive frames to different UEs for transmission of respective different beacon signals, and

the logic for allocating a second time slot within a frame for the base station comprises logic for allocating the second time slot to the base station for transmission of different control signals within the at least some successive frames to the different UEs.

16. The controller of claim 9, further comprising logic for determining to which UE the first time slot should be allocated based upon at least one factor from the group consisting of:

expected volume of data transfer expected;

required data transfer rate;

frequency of short bursts of data transfer;

total number of UEs connected to the network;

time since last data transfer; and

UE power saving requirements.

17. A computer-readable medium comprising program code for enabling active control feedback between a base station and UE in a wireless communications network, the program code for:

allocating a first time slot within a frame for a UE to transmit a beacon signal to the base station, wherein the beacon signal is separate from data signals in the frame;

allocating a second time slot within the frame for the base station to transmit a control signal in response to the beacon signal, the control signal for providing a basis upon which the UE adjusts a transmission parameter; and

allocating other timeslots for the base station to operate in full duplex FDD mode.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein data signals are not allocated to the first time slot.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the first and second time slots operate in full duplex FDD mode.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the transmission parameter comprises power.

21. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the control signal is based upon at least one factor from the group consisting of:

path loss computed based upon the received power of the beacon signal;

time of arrival of the beacon signal; and

channel impulse response in response to the beacon signal.

22. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the program code for allocating a second time slot to the control signal comprises program code for allowing another downlink signal, separated in the code domain from the control signal, to share the second time slot with the control signal.

23. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein

the program code for allocating a first time slot within a frame for the UE comprises program code for allocating the first time slot within at least some successive frames to different UEs for transmission of respective different beacon signals, and

the program code for allocating a second time slot within a frame for the base station comprises program code for allocating the second time slot to the base station for transmission of different control signals within the at least some successive frames to the different UEs.

24. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, further comprising program code for determining to which UE the first time slot should be allocated based upon at least one factor from the group consisting of:

expected volume of data transfer expected;

required data transfer rate;

frequency of short bursts of data transfer;

total number of UEs connected to the network;

time since last data transfer; and

UE power saving requirements.